Scripture Re-Written, To Prove The Doctrines Of Necessary Immortality And Eternal Evil.
By Samuel Minton, M.A.,
1871
Minister of Eaton Chapel, Eaton square.
It becomes all of us to examine whether those religious dogmas which we have accepted on account of their apparent venerableness of age and universality of custom, are indeed the truth. . . . . Is the thing right? then follow it, though thou bast discovered it but yesterday."—Rev. C. H. SPURGEON.
AN APPEAL.
The reader of the following pages is earnestly entreated to answer to himself, honestly, as in the sight of God, these three questions:-
1. Do not most of the passages, as "re-written," express plainly, naturally, and unequivocally, the traditional doctrine? Could any of its advocates express it more distinctly?
2. Would not any one, of ordinary intelligence, whose mind was untrained by theological subtleties, instinctively feel, on reading the passages, as "written" and as "re-written," that they were in direct contradiction to one another? Would it ever occur to him that they might possibly mean the same thing?
3. And, if there be but one answer to these questions, does it not follow that the traditional doctrine is in direct opposition to the plain, natural, obvious, meaning of God's Word?
The God, who gave that Word, "bath given to all men life, and breath, and all things." Among the all things are an understanding and a reason, for the use of which we shall have to render an account to the Giver.
To those whom the Gospel has reached He offers, in addition, the aid of His Holy Spirit to guide their reason into a right understanding of His Word.
If we refuse to exercise that reason, and to seek the help of that Spirit—either from an obstinate disbelief that we can possibly have made a mistake, or from feeling ashamed to acknowledge that we have done so, or from fear of the persecution that we should have to undergo, in consequence of opposing the traditions of our own party, or from selfish indifference to any question that does not directly affect our own personal interests, or from mere indolence,—how can we escape being held responsible for any error in which we may remain enveloped, and for any pit-fall into which we may blindly lead others? From all such sinful, because willful, "negligence and ignorance," good Lord deliver us!
More especially is an appeal made, with all solemnity, to those who have exceptional power of influencing others, and whose bare avowal of their conviction would go farther than the most demonstrative arguments put forward by ordinary men. If any such should begin to feel conscious that there is much more to be said against their cherished opinion than they formerly suspected, they are implored, in God's name, not to quench the Spirit within them, and be induced to put the subject aside, on the plea that it is too late for them to turn round, that they are too deeply committed, and would lose their influence for good in other directions. Rather let them resolve to give no rest to their eyes, nor slumber to their eyelids, till they have ascertained beyond a doubt what is the real truth of the matter. And if they discover, that in this one question, a veil has been upon their eyes, while they read the plainest declarations of Holy Writ, then let them strive, might and main, to undo, as far as possible, the mischief which, in this respect, they have hitherto done. They did it with perfect sincerity, and with all good conscience. They verily thought that they ought to do many things against the great truth of revelation, and not improbably some things also against those who maintained it; but they did it ignorantly, in unbelief that it was the very truth of God; and who knows but that they may find the mercy of doing more, by a frank acknowledgment of their emir, to open the eyes of others than ever they did before to keep them closed?
(REPRINTED PROM The Rainbow.)
MR. WHITE probably regarded the challenge lately thrown out in your columns—namely, to show "how Scripture could have conveyed more clearly than it has done the doctrine of eternal sufferings "—as scarcely meant to be taken seriously. But it may be useful to indicate how much of the Bible would have to be re-written, in order to make it convey that doctrine at all. The reason being, that its two component parts, necessary immortality and eternal evil, directly deny the two great truths which Scripture was specially written to reveal; namely, first, conditional immortality—salvation from sin and death being offered to all through Christ, those who neglect it being destroyed "soul and body" by " the second death : " —secondly, the ultimate reconciliation of the universe by Christ, so " that God may be all in all," and " there shall be no more curse." To make it consistently teach that some will be delivered from the power of death, and made to put on immortality, who will yet never be delivered from the power of sin, and consequently have to live forever in misery, a new Bible would be required.
That this is no exaggeration, will be obvious from the following instances of the kind of alterations needed; some to prove the doctrine in question, others to remove a disproof of it. They might be multiplied indefinitely, but these will suffice:—
Gen. 2.7. " Man became a living soul."
Read—" Man became an immortal spirit."*
If man were an emanation from Deity, and so partaker of the Divine inherent immortality, it is incredible that no higher term should be applied to him than that which is applied to the lower animals.—Gen. 1. 30.
Gen. 2. 17. " In the day that thou eats thereof thou shalt surely die."
Read—" thou shalt surely incur the penalty of living forever in misery."
Gen. 3.19. " For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
Read—" For dust thy body is, and unto dust shall it return; to be raised again in immortal vigor, and with thy never-dying soul, to live forever in endless misery."
Gen. 3. 22. "And now lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."
Read—" and secure eternal holiness and happiness."
Job 4. 17. " Shall mortal man be more just than God? "
Read—" Shall man, though as immortal as God, be more just than He?"
2 Chron. 14. 11. " Let not mortal man (margin) prevail against Thee."
Read—" Let not man, though immortal as Thyself, prevail against Thee."
Ps. 37. 9-11. "For evil-doers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
Read—" For evil-doers shall be gathered together into one portion of the earth, even the lake of fire, but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the rest of the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be, save only in the immediate presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb, where they shall be tormented forever and ever (Rev. 14. 10); yea, thou shalt diligently consider his former place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit their own part of the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace, though the sky be ever darkened by the smoke which shall eternally ascend from the torment of the wicked."
Let it be observed, that this sentence upon Adam is God's own interpretation of the warning, "Thou shalt surely die." From which it appears that the dissolution of a man's body would, in the course of nature, without divine interposition, result in the death of his whole being: for it was "Thou "—the man, and not merely the lower part of his nature, that was to "die."
The lake of fire, Gehenna, the place of destruction, is seen by John in prophetic vision upon the surface of the earth, and is not to be confounded with the abyss, strangely translated "bottomless pit," or place of imprisonment, mentioned immediately afterwards. In the " new earth," the lake of fire having done its work, disappears. There are no enemies of truth and righteousness left, either to imprison or to destroy. If the lake of fire burns forever, and those who are cast into it live there forever, it must be on the earth, for there is no hint that either it, or they, will ever be removed to another locality.
Ps. 37. 20. "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away."
Read—"But the wicked, being imperishable, must live miserably forever, vainly wishing that they could be as the fat of lambs, and consume away into smoke."
Ps. 49. 12. "Nevertheless man (being) in honor abides not; he is like unto the beasts that perish."
Read—" Nevertheless man in honor abides not; and being, unlike the beasts that perish, essentially immortal, must live for ever in dishonor."
Ps. 102. 26, 28. " They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt 'thou change them, and they shall be changed : but thou art the same, and thy years. shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee."
Read—" The children of thy servants shall continue in blessedness, and the years of the wicked likewise shall have no end."
Isaiah 34. 5-10. " For my sword shall be bathed in heaven; behold it shall come down upon Idumea And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day: the smoke thereof shall go up forever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste, none shall pass through it forever and ever."
Omit all the words after "burning pitch."
The primary reference here is undoubtedly to the first death. But as 'certainly does the second death loom through it. Had there been such an impassable gulf, as is commonly supposed, between man and beast in the matter of perishableness and imperishableness, the Psalmist would surely not have spoken as he did, and have left it there. It is worth notice, that the same word "perish," or "destroyed," is applied both to the first and to the second 'death; between which, on the popular view, there is literally no analogy whatever. On the Scriptural view, the only difference is, that in the first death the body alone perishes—man not being " able to kill the soul "—while in the second death "both soul and body" are destroyed, and, as the Athanasian creed expresses it, "perish everlastingly."
The language, as it stands, overthrows one of the main pillars, on which the doctrine of eternal evil rests—namely, the use of similar language in describing the doom of the Apocalyptic Babylon. For if no one believes that the smoke of Idumea will literally "go up forever and ever," why should we think that the smoke of Babylon will do so? The words are not more explicit, and the description certainly not less figurative. If the Holy Ghost, when speaking thus by Isaiah, meant utter and irremediable destruction, why may He not have meant the same when speaking by St. John?
Isaiah 57. 16. "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the sours which I have made."
Read—" for the immortal spirit which can never fail, even before Me, would suffer endless -woe; and the souls, which having been made by me, can never be unmade, would live miserably forever."
Ps. 139. 24. " See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Read—"and lead me in the way of everlasting peace."
Ezek. 18. 4, 9, 13, 18, 21, 23, 24, 27, 32. "The soul that sins, it shall die. . . He shall surely live. . . Shall he then live? He shall not live. He hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. . . He shall die in his iniquity. . . He shall surely live, he shall not die. . . Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live? . . In his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. . . He shall save his soul alive. . . For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves and live ye."
Read—" The soul that sins, it shall live miserably forever. . . He shall surely live happily forever. . . Shall he then live happily? He shall not live happily. He hath done all these abominations; he shall surely live miserably forever; his blood shall never be shed. . . He shall live forever in his iniquity. . . He shall surely enjoy endless happiness, he shall not suffer endless misery. . . Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should live miserably forever? saith the Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live happily forever? . . In his trespass, that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he live forever. . . He shall save his never-dying soul, that cannot but remain alive forever, from endless woe. . . For I have no pleasure in the everlasting misery of an immortal being who can never die; wherefore turn yourselves and be happy."
Dan. 12. 2. " And many of them, which sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
The passage, as it stands, clearly implies that there is only one everlasting way; while the Augustinian doctrine is, that the "wicked way" is equally everlasting, being the way of everlasting misery; nay, that the eternity of the one, and the eternity of the other, " must stand or fall together."
Read—"some to everlasting happiness and honor, and some to everlasting shame and contempt."
Matt. 3. 12. " Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and will gather His wheat into the garner, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Read—" and will gather His wheat into one garner, but the chaff into another, where, though it be forever burning in un-quenchable fire, yet shall it never be burnt up."
Matt. 10. 28. " Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Read—" Fear not them which can only torture the body as long as it lives here on earth, and after its decease can inflict no suffering upon the immortal soul; but rather fear Him, Which is able to raise up the dead body, to confer upon it immortality, and to preserve both soul and body alive forever in hell."
This would intimate that their consciousness of shame would be as everlasting as the contempt of the universe; which the passage, as it stands, seems careful to avoid. In Isaiah 66. 24, the word here rendered "contempt," and there "abhorring," is applied to "carcasses;" which, of course, could not be conscious of it. The contrast of "everlasting life" proves the same to be the case here; for the condemned could feel shame, and know the contempt with which they were regarded, only so long as they remained alive; and to live forever was not the destiny to which they would "awake."
Killing—is putting an end to life, of whatever kind. Destroying—is putting an end to something, of whatever kind. We often apply the words death, and destruction, or ruin (which means the same thing), to persons who have lost, or are in danger of losing, some possession, which is regarded for the moment, by a well understood exaggeration, as " their all." We say that a man is " ruined " when he has only lost his money, though all his other possessions, bodily health, moral character, reputation, are untouched. It is really his property that lies in ruins, not himself. So we say that a certain strategic movement would be destruction to a general, when we really mean no more than that his chance of victory would be destroyed or put an end to. We say that to part with some dearly loved object would be death to us, when we only mean that it would be death to our happiness, which is regarded figuratively as something possessed of life, and which, in the exaggeration of passion, is represented as necessary to our very existence. Thus Hecuba, in the depth of her grief, exclaims, " I am destroyed, I am destroyed, nor indeed any longer exist," showing clearly that the Greek writer, who put these words into her mouth, considered destruction as equivalent to being put out of existence—which Hecuba is made to predicate, figuratively, of herself.
Now, if we could possibly suppose, that when God threatens death and destruction to the finally impenitent, He is only using the exaggerated language of poetry or passion—our Lord himself removes every shade of doubt upon the subject., by defining precisely and dogmatically what it is that men will lose in hell. By "the second death" they will be "punished with the everlasting destruction"—not merely of their happiness—their moral character—their reputation—their communion with God—their enjoyment of God's favor—their affections and hopes—their health and wealth—their possessions and their prospects—or any number of such things that may be piled one upon another, in order to appear to satisfy the tremendous word "destroy," but—the component parts of their being, their " soul and body." These will be put an end to. Just as a man can kill the body, and, if he pleases, destroy its very framework, as completely as if every particle of matter that entered into its composition had been literally annihilated, so can—and, as the injunction to " fear Him " on that account plainly shows—so will God kill, nay, utterly destroy, and that irrecoverably, with an everlasting destruction, the whole being, "soul and body," of those who finally reject Christ's salvation.
Is there any saying on record, of any writer, upon any subject, in any human language, that is less capable of admitting a second interpretation than this? How can it be misunderstood? How was it ever misunderstood? It is a phenomenon of the human mind, that may perhaps be equaled, but by no possibility can be surpassed.
Matt. 10. 39. " He that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it."
Read—" He that finds his life shall spend it hereafter in misery, and he that loses his life for my sake, shall spend it here-after in happiness."
Matt. 13. 30, 40-42. " Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my garner. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned
in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Read—" Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to be kept by themselves, but gather the wheat into my garner, to be kept apart from them. . . . and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, which shall never be able to consume them, so that there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth forever."
Matt. 13. 48. " Which, when it was full, they drew ashore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away."
Read—"and gathered the good into one set of vessels to be kept for one purpose, but the bad into another set of vessels to be kept for another purpose."
Matt. xvi. 26.. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? "
Read—" For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his eternal happiness? or, what shall a man give in exchange for eternal happiness "
Matt. 25.46. " And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."
Read—" And these shall go away into everlasting misery, but the righteous into everlasting happiness."
Mark 9. 43, 44. "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched (literally, the unquenchable fire), where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched."
Read—" It is better for thee to enter into bliss maimed, than having two hands to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire, where, though their worm dies not, yet shall they never be devoured by it, and though the fire be not quenched, yet shall they never be consumed by it."
Luke 9. 25. "For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"
Read—" and lose his eternal happiness."
Luke 9. 56. " For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
Read—" For the Son of Man is not come to make men sinful and miserable, but to make them holy and happy."
Luke 16. 23, 31. "And in Hell (Hades) he lift up his eyes, being in torments," &c.
Read—" And in Gehenna he lift up his eyes, being in torments." And omit all reference to his brothers still in a state of probation on earth—which would be impossible after the final judgment."
Our Lord's own words imply that He came to save what His disciples wished to take away, namely—not the holiness and happiness, but the lives of the Samaritans. It is true they only wished to inflict temporal death, while He came to save from eternal death; but in each case it was death and not merely pain.
Gehenna, the place of destruction—and Hades, the place of all departed spirits before Christ's resurrection, and of all now who die unregenerate—are both translated Hell in our version. This leads some persons to argue, from the fact of the rich man being represented as alive in Hades, that the wicked will be kept alive, soul and body, in Gehenna forever. Both the word Hades, as well as the reference to his surviving brethren, shows that the rich man is supposed to be amongst "the spirits in prison," awaiting his final doom • and that the "torment" which he feels is represented under the figure of bodily suffering caused by fire. His actual body has just been "buried." In a published sermon on this parable, the preacher says—"Mark, this is no stretch of the human imagination—no effort of lively thought; these are words of Him who was the Word of God. Let us not try to explain away His words, let us not trifle with them or neglect them. What teaching this divine record supplies! There are people who tell us there is no hell. Christ says there is a hell. - 'And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.' If there are people who tell us that there will be no Gehenna, they cannot give much credence to the New Testament. But, as "no hell" is a very favorite way of describing the doctrine, that hell will be a place to die in and not a place to live in, a place of everlasting destruction and not a place of everlasting life in misery, the preacher probably had this in mind. Now there are no "persons who tell us" this truth more distinctly and emphatically than Christ and His Apostles. But to say that Christ mentions it here, is simply a " stretch of the human imagination," which would be impossible to any one, who did not either "trifle with," or "neglect" to observe our Lord's "words."
The passage, as it stands, seems to make immortality one of the special privileges of the children of the resurrection, inasmuch as the close connection between not marrying and not dying suggests that our Lord was speaking of literal death, and not of relapsing into a state of sin and misery.
Luke 17. 33. "For whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."
Read—" For whosoever shall seek to save his life shall live miserably forever. and whosoever shall lose his life shall live happily forever."
Luke 20. 35, 36. " But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, neither can they die any more, for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."
Read—" neither can they sin any more, for," etc.—or else, "neither can they die any more, for man, being created in the image of God, is essentially immortal."
John 3. 16. " That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Read—" should not be kept in everlasting misery, but should enjoy everlasting happiness."
John 5. 26. " As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given the Son to have life in Himself."
Read—" so hath He given the Son, and all mankind, to have life in themselves."
John 6. 40. " And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Read—" that every one which sees the Son and believeth on Him, may have everlasting happiness; and, when I raise up all men to immortality at the last day, he shall enter into the enjoyment of it."
John 6. 49, 51. "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever."
Read—" Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and yet continued dead in sin and misery. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not remain sinful and miserable. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall be holy and happy forever."
John 6. 54. " Whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Read—" hath eternal happiness; and when all men are raised immortal at the last day, he shall enter into the enjoyment of it."
John 6. 57, 58. " As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eats of this bread shall live forever."
Read—" As the ever blessed Father hath sent me, and I am blessed by the Father, so he that eats me, even he shall be blessed by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and yet remained sinful and miserable; he that eats of this bread, shall be holy and happy forever."
John 12. 25. " He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life shall preserve it unto life eternal."
Read—" He that loveth his life shall hereafter find his eternal life a curse to him! and he that hates his life shall hereafter find it a blessing to him."
John 15. 6. " If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Read—" men gather them, and cast them into the fire, where they remain forever burning, but are never burned."
That he will be raised up to immortality is implied in his being said to possess "eternal life."
Was the manna given to the Israelites to make them holy and happy, or to keep them ALIVE? If the latter, does not the contrast, drawn by our Lord, prove that the fundamental element in the blessing which we receive in " eating him" is to be KEPT ALIVE forever. The manna could only sustain their life for a time; the bread which He gives will sustain our lives forever. That our eternal life will be one of holiness and happiness is abundantly assured by express revelation; and also follows necessarily from the fact, that "by Him (Christ) all things consist." As nothing can permanently consist, or hold together, except in Christ, nothing can live forever in a state of alienation from God.
Acts 8. 20. " Thy money perish with thee."
Read—" Thy money be laid up as an eternal monument of thy guilt; and thyself be kept alive in eternal wretchedness."
Rom. 1. 32. "Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which do such things are worthy of death."
Read—" worthy of being kept alive forever in misery."
Rom. 2. 7. " To them, who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life."
Read—"To them, who by patient continuance in well-doing seek that their immortality may be one of glory and honor, eternal happiness."
Rom. 2. 12. "They that have sinned without law, shall also perish without law."
Read—" They that have sinned without law, being imperishable creatures, must endure endless misery without law."
Rom. 5. 12-14. " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (literally—all sinned, i.e., in Adam). For until the law sin was in the world : but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression."
Read—"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and misery by sin; and so misery passed upon all men, for that all sinned. For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless misery reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression."
Rom. 6. 21-23. " What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Read—" For the end of those things is misery; but now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting happiness. For the wages of sin is eternal misery; but the gift of God is eternal holiness and happiness through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Rom. 8. 10. " If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness."
Read—"the body is wretched because of sin; but the spirit is joy because of righteousness."
Rom. 8. 13. “For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."
Read—" For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall remain dead in sin; but if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall continue spiritually alive."
1 Cor. 15. 18. "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." (Properly—" Then also, they which fell asleep in Christ perished "—i.e. when they fell asleep.)
Read—" Then also they which fell asleep in Christ, relapsed into a condition of sin and misery."
1 Cor. 15. 28. " That God may be all in all."
Add--" save only in those who will dwell forever in everlasting fire."
Gal. 6. 8. "He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Read—"shall of the flesh reap endless woe; but he that soweth. to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap joy everlasting."
Eph. 1. 10. "That in the dispensation of the fulness of time, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him."
Read—"and which are on earth, save only the everlasting inhabitants of the lake of fire."
Phil. 3. 19. " Whose end is destruction."
Read—" Whose end is an everlasting life of misery in the world to come."
Col. 1. 20. By Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in. heaven."
Read—"By Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, save only those things on earth, which are to abide forever in the lake of fire."
2 Thess. 1. 9. " Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power."
Bead—"Who shall be punished with everlasting misery in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb." (See Rev. 14. 10.)
2 Tim. 1. 10. " And hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
Read—" And hath brought holiness and a happy immortality to light through the gospel."
1 Tim. 6. 16. " Who only hath immortality."
Read—"Who was the first to possess inherent immortality."
Heb. 10. 27. "A certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."
Read—" which shall forever prey upon, but never devour, the adversaries."
Heb. 12. 29. " For our God is a consuming fire."
Read—" For our God is a scorching fire."
2 Pet. 2. 12. " But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things which they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption."
Read —"But these speak evil of the things which they understand not, and being, unlike the natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, utterly imperishable, they must live forever in their own corruption."
1 John 2. 17. " He that doeth the will of God abides forever." Add—" in His favor," or " in happiness."
1 John 3. 8. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
Add—" except those which are to be perpetuated forever, as a living example to the universe."
1 John 5. 11. " And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."
Read—" that God bath given to us eternal blessedness, and this blessedness is in His son."
Jude 1. 7. "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
Read—" having suffered the vengeance of destruction by fire."
It is urged that man's soul being an emanation from Deity, and so part of God himself, must necessarily be as immortal as God. But if so, it also follows, that he must necessarily be as holy as God. If he can finally lose one part of God's image, why not another? Besides, as it has been conclusively replied, if man is part of God, then part of God can sin against God, and be punished by God. If part of God can be punished at all, why not with death?
From the passage, as it stands, it would seem that we may properly speak of vengeance being still suffered by that which has ceased to exist; and that fire, which has long ago died out, may properly be called eternal or everlasting, if its effects are permanent and irremediable. The attempt to escape this by applying the " vengeance " to that which the souls of the Sodomites are now "suffering" in Hades—as if they were " set forth for an example "—is too manifest an evasion to require any serious refutation.
For, if the preceding words prove that some of Christ's enemies will be kept alive forever in the lake of fire, these words must prove that others wilt meet with a different doom, and be "slain."
It has been urged that Heb. 9. 27 is opposed to the natural interpretation of "the second death." But without reason. One death only "is appointed unto"—literally lies before—"men," that is, all men, in consequence of Adam's sin. No second death is appointed unto any man. But those who reject Christ's salvation bring upon themselves a destruction of both soul and body.
Rev. 19. 20, 21. " These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
Omit, "And the remnant," &c.'
Rev. 21. 4. " And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away."
Read—"And, except in the lake of fire, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither, elsewhere, shall there be any more pain; for its former prevalence over the earth has passed away, and it is now all gathered together into one place, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." (14. 10.)
Rev. 21. 5. " Behold I make all things new."
Add—" except sin and misery, which are to be perpetuated forever in the lake of fire."
Rev. 21. 8. " Shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death."
Read—" Shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; in which torment they shall forever be sustained by Almighty power, so that no second death may ever release them."
Rev. 22. 3. " And there shall be no more curse."
Read—" And the curse shall be confined to that place, which is in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb, even the lake of fire."
Now in view of the above Scriptures, written and re-written, let two things be observed. First, that we require nothing whatever, beyond the plain repeated distinct language of inspiration, in order to express our belief in the most precise and definite manner,
Secondly, that, in order to express precisely and definitely the opposite belief, we are compelled to invent language of our own. There is literally not to be found in the whole Bible one solitary expression, which is adequate to define the popular doctrine,—unless we either take advantage of the mis-translation of Isaiah 33. 14, which has nothing to do with future punishment at all, or else borrow an expression from the highly figurative apocalyptic visions, and in direct violation of the most unmistakable teaching of those same visions, apply it literally to human beings in the day of judgment. That the unsaved amongst mankind will " dwell with everlasting burnings," and there " be tormented forever and ever," is distinctly the Augustinian doctrine; and there is no other scriptural way of stating it. Such expressions as endless sin, or endless pain, or anything equivalent thereto, are not to be found. Augustinians do, no doubt, constantly speak of "everlasting punishment," which is a scriptural expression, as if that were sufficient to express their doctrine. But it manifestly is not so; because we hold everlasting punishment as strongly as they do.; only we hold that, in its last and heaviest form, it will consist of " everlasting destruction."
This is the state of the case, as to the direct question concerning the final doom of the lost. On the question, which is really the foundation of the whole matter, whether man's immortality is necessary or conditional, the case of our opponents is still more desperate. There is not in the whole Bible one semblance of an assertion that man, as such, possesses inherent immortality of any kind whatever. Scripture utterly ignores the Platonic fiction of an immortal soul in a mortal body. More than SIXTEEN HUNDRED times does it mention either the human "soul " or the human "spirit;" and NOT ONCE as being "immortal," "deathless," "never dying," or anything of the kind. God's word declares that Malt is mortal, that man is under sentence of death as the wages of sin, and that man, if he be saved by Christ from sin and death, will " put on immortality " in the resurrection.
There are two passages in the Old Testament, which, though they have nothing whatever to do with future punishment, yet are often quoted in this controversy.
The first is Isaiah 33. 14. Bishop Lowth's translation of the verse is this: 'Who among us can abide this consuming fire? Who among us can abide these continued burnings?' And a glance at the context, both before and after, will convince any one, that it refers exclusively to temporal judgments, which were being inflicted and threatened. The people say, Who can endure this? And the answer is given in the following verses: Walk righteously, and you will have no cause to fear; your bread shall be given you, and your water shall not fail. It is present earthly prosperity and adversity that are contrasted—not heaven and hell.
The other passage is Isaiah 30. 33. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth. kindle it.' Here again there is no reference to future punishment. It is a. prediction of the total destruction of the Assyrian king and his army, in figurative language taken from the fires that were kept burning in the valley of Tophet outside the walls of Jerusalem to consume the refuse of the city. Our Lord, no doubt, uses the same figure to describe the future destruction of the wicked; but here it is used as an image of temporal destruction."—The Way Everlasting. In the same pamphlet will be found a full examination of the closing scenes in the Book of Revelation, so far as they bear upon this question.
Yet it is this false postulate, namely, that man is partly mortal and partly immortal, which alone gives Christians courage to assert the doctrine of eternal pain. They are compelled, indeed, to admit, that God will confer immortality on the bodies of the wicked for the express purpose of enabling them to bear endless pain,—because they see that human bodies are not naturally immortal. But from this terrible thought they take refuge in the theory, that as the soul is immortal and cannot die, it must, if irremediably depraved, remain wretched forever; and the immortalising of its kindred body may be a necessary part of its punishment. Let it once be seen, that although the soul may be sustained in some sort of conscious existence apart from the body, it yet possesses no more inherent immortality than the body; let it once be seen that the man, and not merely his body, can die,—and I doubt if the sternest theologian living would dare to say, that God having made man mortal—not to die any more than to sin, but capable of dying as of sinning—at his creation, will make him immortal—still capable of sinning, but incapable of dying—at his resurrection, solely that he may be able to bear through all eternity an amount of bodily and mental agony, that would naturally be beyond the power of even the highest creaturehood to sustain, and that without the possibility of its ever doing him one particle of good.
We mean of course—by nature. See Rom. 8. 11. The "mortal bodies of Christians are spoken of, in contrast to their spirits, which have been quickened into immortal life by the regenerating Spirit of God. Immortality is not communicated to their bodies until the resurrection; and therefore, not until then, does the man become immortal. Even now, in the regenerate, "the spirit is life (not merely alive, but life—beyond the power of death) because of righteousness; but the body is dead (subject to death—death-stricken) because of sin." In the resurrection the body will be made as immortal as the spirit was made in regeneration.
'Thou shalt not join thyself or be like such men as are ungodly to the end, and are condemned to death:—Barnabas.
‘He that chooses evil shall be destroyed, together with his works.'—Ignatius.
'The day is at hand in which all things shall be destroyed, together with the Wicked One."—Ditto.
'How wonderful are the gifts of God! Life in Immortality, splendor in righteousness, faith in assurance, self-control in holiness!'—Clement of Rome.
'If you defile your flesh, you will not live.’—Hermas.
‘Christ died for us, that Believing in His death, we might escape dying.'—Ditto.
'Watch, as an athlete of God. The prize is immortality, and eternal life. —Ditto.
'If He reward us according to our works, we are no more—Ditto.
God delays causing the confusion and destruction of the whole world, by which the wicked angels, and demons, and men shall cease to arise—Justin Martyr.
'The soul partakes of life, since God wishes it to live. So then, it will not partake of it, at such time as God does not choose that it shall live. For, as the body does not keep company forever with the soul, but when it becomes needful that the harmony should be dissolved, the soul leaves the body, and the man is not—so also, when it is needful that the soul should no longer be, the vital spirit departs from it, and the said exists no longer, but it also returns to the place whence it was taken:—.Ditto.
‘We have been taught, that those only attain to immortality, who live holily and virtuously near to God.'—Ditto.
'To those who, by patient continuance in well-doing seek for immortality, He will grant eternal life. To the unbelieving there shall be indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish; and at last everlasting fire shall seize such.'—Theophilus.
But some one will say, Was man made mortal by nature? By no means. Immortal? Nor do we say that. If immortal, He would have made him a God. If mortal, God would have seemed to be the author of sin. Therefore he made him neither mortal nor immortal, but capable of both. So if he was carried to the things which lead to immortality, he might receive immortality as a reward, and become godlike; but, on the other hand, if he should turn to the works of death, he might become the author of death to himself.'—Ditto.
'It is written, "They shall perish, but Thou art the same; the children of 'Thy servants shall continue." Thus pointing out plainly what things they are, that are to pass away, and who it is, that cloth endure forever,—God together with His servants.'—Irenaeus.
Regarding the saving of men, it is said, He asked life of Thee, and Thou gayest it Him, even length of days forever and ever. As if the Father of all conferred endurance forever and ever on those who are saved. For not of ourselves, nor of our own nature is life, but it is given according to the grace of God. And, therefore, he who shall have preserved the grant of life and rendered thanks to the bestower of it, shall receive length of days forever and ever. But he who shall cast away that life, and turn out ungrateful to his Maker, he deprives himself of endurance forever and ever; and, therefore, the Lord said to such, " If ye have not been faithful in a little, what great thing will any one give to you?" signifying, that, since they were ungrateful in the small matter of temporal life, justly they should not obtain from Him length of days forever and ever.'—Ditto.
'Just as, had the sun not been in existence, night would have brooded over the universe; so, had we not known the Word, and been illuminated by Him, we should have been nowise different from fowls that are being fed, fattened in darkness, and nourished for death!—Clemens Alexandrinus.
The doctrine of eternal misery appears first in the "Clementina"—a forgery by some unknown writer about the middle of the second century. Until that time it seems to have been unknown in the Christian Church. Universal salvation was first taught about 100 years later. This has been shewn by Mr. Constable in "The Nature and Duration of Future Punishment;" (Longmans) and still more fully by Mr. Denniston in -"The Perishing Soul."—(F. B. Ritto.)
I permit the Pope to make articles of faith for himself and his faithful, such as, that the soul is the substantial form of the human body, that the soul is immortal, with all those monstrous opinions to be found in the Roman decretals:—Martin Luther.
'By death some men understand endless torments in hell fire. But it seems a strange way of understanding a law, which requires the plainest and direct words, that by death should be meant eternal life in misery. Can any one be supposed to intend, by a law which says, " For felony thou shalt surely die," not that he should lose his life, but be kept alive in exquisite and perpetual torments? And would any one think himself fairly dealt with that was so used?'—John Locke.
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and the name, are alike unknown to the entire Bible.'—Olslutusen.
That the soul is naturally immortal is contradicted by Scripture, which makes our immortality a gift dependent on the Giver:—Richard Watson.
To the Christian, indeed, all this doubt would be instantly removed if he found that the immortality of the soul was revealed in the Word of God. In fact, no such doctrine is revealed to us. The Christian's hope, as founded in the promises contained in the Gospel, is the resurrection of the body:—Archbishop Whately.
With the immortality of the soul man can still connect the idea of self, of power in the body; but when the leading truth is the resurrection of the body, and not the immortality of the soul, man's impotency becomes glaring.'—J. _Darby, Founder of the " Plymouth Brethren " Sect.
'Before coming to direct proofs, we would express our conviction, that the idea of the immortality of the soul has no source in the Gospels; that it comes, on the contrary, from the Platonists, and that it was just when the coming of Christ was Unied in the Church, or at least began to be lost sight of, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul came in to replace that of the resurrection. Nevertheless, I believe it'—Ditto.
'That which has given rise to the supposition, that it (Matt. 25.) is the judgment of the dead, are these words—" These shall go away into everlasting punishment; "but this only means that the judgment of the living will be final, like that of the dead.'--Ditto.
My mind fails to conceive a grosser misinterpretation of language, than when the five or six strongest words which the Greek tongue possesses, signifying "destroy" or "destruction," are explained to mean—maintaining an everlasting but wretched existence.'—Dr. Weymouth, Head Master of Mill-hill School.
I acknowledge myself not convinced of the orthodox doctrine. . . . It appears to me that the teachers and believers of the orthodox doctrine, hardly ever make an earnest, strenuous effort, to form a conception of eternity, or rather a conception somewhat of the nature of a faint incipient approximation. . . . . It has been suggested to imagine the number of particles, atoms, contained in this globe, and suppose them one by one annihilated, each in a thousand years, till all were gone; but just as well say, a million, or a million of millions of years or ages, it is all the same, as against infinite duration. Extend the thought of such a process to our whole mundane system, and finally to the whole material universe. it is still the same. Or, imagine a series of numerical figures in close order, extended to a line of such a length that it, would encircle the globe, like the equator—or that would run along with the earth's orbit round the sun—or with the outermost planet, Uranus—or that would draw a circle, of which the radius should be from the earth or sun to Sirius -or that should encompass the entire material universe, which, as being material, cannot be infinite. The most stupendous of these measures of time would have an end, and would, when completed, be still nothing to eternity. Now think of an infliction of misery protracted through such a period, and at the end of it being only commencing, not one smallest step nearer a conclusion. The case would be just the same if that sum of figures were multiplied by itself. And then think of man! his nature, his situation, the circumstances of his brief sojourn and trial on earth. . . . Now this creature, thus constituted and circumstanced, passes a few fleeting years on earth, a short sinful course, in which be does often what, notwithstanding his ignorance and ill-disciplined judgment and conscience, he knows to be wrong, and neglects what he knows to be his duty, and, consequently, for a greater or less measure of guilt, widely different in different offenders, deserves punishment. But endless punishment!
hopeless misery, through a duration to which the enormous terms above imagined will be absolutely nothing! I acknowledge my inability (I would say it reverently) to admit this belief, together with a belief in the Divine goodness —the belief that " God is love," that His tender mercies are over all His works. Goodness, benevolence, charity, as ascribed in supreme perfection to Him, cannot mean a quality foreign to all human conceptions of goodness; it must be something analogous in principle to what himself has defined and required as goodness in his moral creatures, that in adoring the Divine goodness we may not be worshipping an unknown God.'—John Foster.
The Scriptures do not, I think, afford us any ground for expecting that those who shall be condemned at the last day as having willfully rejected or rebelled against 'their Lord,' will be finally delivered; that their doom, and that of the evil angels, will ever be reversed. What that doom will be—whether the terms in which it is commonly spoken of in Scripture—"death," "destruction" “perishing," &c., are to be understood figuratively, as denoting immortal life in a state of misery, or more literally, as denoting a final extinction of existence —this is quite a different question. It is certain that the words, "life," -"eternal life," "immortality," &c., are always applied to the condition of those, and of those only, who shall at the last day be approved as "good and faithful 'servants," who are to "enter into the joy of their Lord." "Life," as applied to their condition, is usually understood to mean " happy life." And that theirs will be a happy life, we are indeed plainly taught; but I do not think we are anywhere taught that the word "life" does of itself necessarily imply happiness. If so, indeed, it would be a mere tautology to speak of a "happy life;" and a contradiction to speak of a "miserable life;" which we know is not the case, according to the usage of any language. In all ages and countries, "life," and the words answering to it in other languages, have always been applied, in ordinary discourse. to a wretched life, no less properly than to a happy one. Life, therefore, in the received sense of the word, would apply equally to the condition of the blessed and of the condemned, supposing these last be destined to continue forever, living in a state of misery. And yet, to their condition the words "life" and "immortality" never are applied in Scripture. If, therefore, we suppose the hearers of Jesus and His Apostles to have understood, as nearly as possible in the ordinary sense, the words employed, they must naturally have conceived them to mean (if they were taught nothing to the contrary) that the condemned were really and literally to be "destroyed," and cease to exist; not that they were to exist forever in a state of wretchedness. For they are never spoken of as being kept alive, but as forfeiting life; as, for instance, " Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life;"—" He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." And again, "perdition," "death," "destruction," are employed in numerous passages to express the doom of the condemned. All which expressions would, as I have said, be naturally taken in their usual and obvious sense, if nothing were taught to the contrary.
From such passages as these it has been inferred that the sufferings, and, consequently, the life, of the condemned, is never to have an end. And the expressions will certainly bear that sense; which would, perhaps, be their most obvious and natural meaning, if these expressions were the only ones on the subject that are to be found in Scripture. But they will also bear another sense: which, if not more probable in itself, is certainly more reconcileable with the ordinary meaning of the words "destruction," &c., which so often occur. The expressions of "eternal punishment," "unquenchable fire," &c., may mean merely that there is to be no deliverance—no revival—no restoration—of the condemned. "Death," simply, does not shut out the hope of being brought to life again; "eternal death" does. "Fire " may be quenched before it has entirely consumed what it is burning; "unquenchable fire" would seem most naturally to mean that which destroys it utterly. It may be said, indeed, that supposing man's soul to be an immaterial Being, it cannot be consumed and destroyed by literal material fire or worms. That is true: but no more can it suffer from these. We all know that no fire, literally so called, can give us any pain unless it reaches our bodies. The "fire," therefore, and the " worm " that are spoken of, must, at any rate, it would seem, be something figuratively so called—something that is to the soul what worms and fire are to a body. And as the effect of worms or fire is not to preserve the body they prey upon, but to consume, destroy, and put an end to it, it would follow, if the correspondence hold good, that the fire, figuratively so called, which is prepared for the condemned, is something that is really to destroy and put an end to them; and is called "everlasting" or "unquenchable" fire, to denote that they are not to be saved from it, but that their destruction is to be final. So in the parable of the tares, our Lord describes Himself as saying, " gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my garner;" as if to denote that the one is to be [as we know is the practice of the husbandman) carefully preserved, and the other, completely put an end to.
On the whole, therefore, I think we are not warranted in concluding (as some have done) so positively concerning this question as to make it a point of Christian faith to interpret figuratively and not literally the " death" and "destruction" spoken of in Scripture as the doom of the condemned; and to insist on the belief that they are to be kept alive forever.'—Archbishop Whately.
To the Editor of the "Eastbourne Gazette."
SIR,-It may seem remarkable that I, a dissenter, should concern myself with the doctrinal teaching and the tolerant spirit of the Prayer-Book. But some of your readers, upon reflection, will probably discern a sufficient reason for the kind of notice which I propose to take. What saith the Book of Common Prayer on the doctrine of Future Punishment.
I cannot pretend to answer the question perfectly, because I am not sufficiently acquainted with that manual of religious instruction and worship to feel sure that I have gathered up all that it says on the subject. But I have recently been prompted, by a very urgent motive, to make diligent inquiry, and shall be obliged, sir, if you will insert the process and result.
Remembering that the Creed, called the Apostles' Creed, is repeated in. church every Sunday morning, that it forms a part of the Catechism, must be learned and said by every candidate for Confirmation, and is the crucial or testing part of " The Visitation of the Sick," naturally turned to it first, to see what it has declared on God's last judgment upon those who die unsaved. It is a very brief, but a very comprehensive summary of Christian truth. It speaks of Judgment, of the Resurrection of the Body, and of the Life Everlasting, but it does not contain one word on Future Punishment.
Of course Future Punishment is implied in the word Judgment. But the Creed says nothing about it, therefore nothing about its nature. It leaves the nature of Future Punishment an open question. Whether that punishment is to be everlasting suffering, or "everlasting destruction," the Creed does not declare.
I turn to the Nicene Creed, and find that it amplifies and supplements the other—speaking more fully on several topics, and making some important additions. But its silence on the nature of Future Punishment is, if possible, even more impressive than that of the shorter formula.
I next look through the Catechism, searching for some word there which may express what the Creeds have left out, and the only phrase I find is " Everlasting death." Hence the only idea put before young people by the Church Catechism, on the subject of Future Punishment, is death which lasts forever.
Turning to "The Communion," I perceive that strong words are used, warning the wicked and the triflers of God's judgment, such as—" increase your damnation," " sore punishment hangs over your heads." These phrases, however, appear to be explained by others in the same connection, which speak of God " plaguing us with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death: " and by " the devil entering into you and bringing you to destruction both of body and soul."
Death and destruction, therefore—"destruction of body and soul," are the intimations of Future Punishment contained in "The Communion." All persons would probably not understand the words " death" and " destruction" in the same sense; some might think they ought to be taken in their natural and proper meaning, and others might take them in a non-natural and conventional sense. In that case, the nature of Future Punishment, so far as these words are concerned, would stand an open question.
In the Visitation of the Sick there is a very appropriate admonition, warning the sick persons of " that fearful judgment; " but there is no word describing the nature of the punishment which is to follow.
From these facts, it is evident that a belief in everlasting suffering is not demanded at Confirmation, at Communion, nor at Absolution in mortal sickness. A person may be confirmed in the Church of England without believing that all who die in sin must suffer pain forever; may receive the Sacramer.t without holding that dogma, and without being taught it, and may receive the last priestly absolution without entertaining it. Thus far, therefore, we have not found that it is an article of Communion.
But there is another Creed, very particular, precise, and severe, in laying down "the Catholic Faith; " " which Faith, except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly." What saith "The Athanasian Creed," on the Nature of Future Punishment. Contrary to its manner on other points, it contents itself here with quoting words of Scripture. " They that have done evil [shall go] into everlasting fire." These words are taken from Matt. 25. 41. As fire, throughout that gospel, and everywhere else, except once or twice in the hieroglyphs of Revelation, is a means of certain and swift destruction, and not of protracted torture, so the use of that word in the Creed cannot be held to teach that the nature of future punishment is everlasting suffering. It more naturally agrees with St. Paul's phrase "everlasting destruction;" and with its own introductory words "perish everlastingly." This Creed therefore leaves the nature of future punishment an open question.
The Litany again, is a composition which contains a little of almost everything: I therefore consult its terse and telling utterances. With what result? It grays to be delivered from " everlasting damnation." Damnation is a word which corresponds to the Greek word for judgment; and is used in several places in our Authorized Version of the Bible to translate that term. The phrase "everlasting damnation" does not express more than "eternal judgment," Heb. 6. 3; and neither of them teaches what the nature of future punishment will be. Each word suggests that the sentence or award will stand forever; and that it will be solemn and awful to the last degree as the wrath of God. But neither of them teaches wherein the punishment will consist.
Some lingering reminiscences incline me to look into the Burial Service, and there I meet with the strongest form of words. perhaps. which the book contains:—"Deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death." If this expression should mean "the bitter pains of eternal suffering” no one could feel surprise that such a thought should have been imported from papal antiquity into the Protestant formula: but it may mean only the bitter pains which attend upon the award and infliction of “eternal death." And this view is supported by the language with which the prayer closes. "Thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not. at our last hour. for any pains of death. to fall from Thee." The phrase here,—"pains of death," no doubt means "pains " accompanying "the article of death." Hence, in the Burial Service we have only an indecisive form of expression, which still leaves the Nature of Future Punishment an open question.
But by allowing co much, I concede more than the language demands. Because in that language are contained the following terms, "perish." "fire," "death," "destruction both of body and soul," neither of which, in its proper sense, is consistent with everlasting existence. How can that exist which has " perished," which has been cast into a lake of " fire," which has come under the power of "death," which has suffered "destruction." It is only by taking such words in a non-natural sense that the language of the Prayer Book can be made even to tolerate the eternal suffering dogma.
I turn to the Articles for further light. They do not contain a word on the subject. They only refer to the Creeds. I read over the titles of the Homilies; and it is clear they do not embrace Future Punishment in their teaching.
So far is the Prayer Book from teaching an everlasting existence in suffering, that it is only by a conventional strain put upon its words that it can be made even to allow the possibility of such a thing. It nowhere teaches it. By keeping to Scripture language, it may have intended to avoid any hard decision upon the point. That is all.
It is well known that Bishops, and other dignitaries in the Church of England, have denied everlasting suffering without being called to account for their denial. This remark applies to some living men.
On the ground of this brief, but I hope sufficient, review, I claim the right to hold and publish the punishment of the wicked by "everlasting destruction," and "eternal death," without being subjected to a religious ostracism by Churchmen. The standard formularies of their doctrine and devotion are assuredly in favor of liberty of opinion on the nature of future punishment, even if they do not, by a designed use of suitable terms, teach that it is "eternal death," "destruction both of body and soul," and that the wicked by going "into everlasting fire," are burnt up and " perish everlastingly."
The words used by the Prayer Book are just those which I should select from Scripture to express my own views.
I am, sir, truly yours,
W. GRIFFITH.
The Manse, Eastbourne, 15 January, 1871.
Every one admits that the crucial words in the whole controversy are Life and Death. Mr. "accepts the issue" unreservedly: so much so, that having secured, as he thinks, a verdict in his own favor on that count, he says, "The point is practically settled." And who could deny it? Life and Death—Life and Death—these are the words with which the Bible rings from beginning to end. The presumption surely is, that they carry their own meaning with them, and not that they require to be explained from a parable and a metaphor, or from a highly figurative scene in the book of Revelation.
Now death is simply the cessation of life. There are various kinds of life, and therefore there are various kinds of death; but death, regarded as an act, is the cessation of life, and nothing else. Regarded as a condition, it is the state of anything from which life has departed. We speak inaccurately of dead matter, meaning only that it is without life; but properly speaking, nothing is dead that has not died, and nothing can properly be said to die that could not have been said in some sense or other to possess life. The first question there-fore is, What kind of life will the wicked possess in the day of judgment to be deprived of? If they are then to suffer death. it must be by the deprivation of some life which they then possess. What can it be?
Spiritual life they lost in Adam, and have never regained. They are already dead in " trespasses and sins." In that sense " they have no life in them," and therefore have none to be deprived of. They are already "alienated from the life of God," "children of wrath," "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel," " without God." It cannot be therefore the loss of holiness or of God's favor that will constitute " the second death," to be inflicted on them at the final judgment.
Neither can it be the loss of peace and joy and happiness; for these they do not possess, and therefore cannot be deprived of. " There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards."
The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Some of them, no doubt enjoy, " the pleasures of sin for a season;" but many are debarred even from these, and pass whole lives of unredeemed misery from their cradle to their grave. To talk of their possessing anything in the way of happiness, which could be called life, and the loss of which could be called death, is simply absurd. That Divine power would be able to make them still more wretched than they are, of course we admit. But it would be an utter abuse of language to call that taking away their life, or inflicting death upon them. We are waiving the question, whether happiness in itself, apart from holiness and the conscious enjoyment of God's favor, could ever properly be called life; and we are also waiving any consideration of the intermediate state—or else we should ask, What life does the rich man in Hades now possess, that can be taken from him when he is cast body and soul into Gehenna? The state of the wicked in this life is quite sufficient to decide the question. And we ask, what life do they possess, that can be taken away or destroyed, except their natural life, which consists in the possession of a reasonable soul and body? What other death CAN they die, except physical death?
It would seem as if the matter were already "practically settled" by the simple process of exhaustion. The "theory" you "frame" is, that the second death will merely be a continuation of their present spiritual death, that is alienation from God, with a vast addition to their unhappiness both in mind and body. But this is not the view that Scripture gives of it. Scripture tells them that they shall die, and not merely that they shall continue dead under circumstances of aggravating misery. It represents God Himself as inflicting death upon them, casting them into hell and destroying them body and soul. And God never inflicts spiritual death upon anyone. They destroy themselves spiritually, and therefore God destroys them in some other way. What other way is there except by depriving them of the only life they have left?
And is not that just the life, which our Lord Himself precisely defines to be what will he taken away from them? " Fear not them which kill the body and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell " (Matt. x. 28). Now I put it to your conscience, whether you can find a more distinct and positive utterance than that upon any subject whatever in the whole Bible. Would it be possible for any human being who read that text with an unprejudiced mind, to have the smallest doubt as to its meaning? Does it not distinctly threaten that God will do to both soul and body that which man can do to the body, but is "not able" to do to the soul—" kill" them? And what is killing? Why, depriving of life. While the body retains one spark of life of any sort or description, it is not killed; and while the soul retains one spark of life of any sort or description it is not killed.
At the commencement of the Christian era, the question of man's natural immortality had long occupied the very first place of interest and importance in every school of philosophy throughout the world. The word apollumi was one of the principal terms employed in the controversy. Both sides employed it, and always in the same sense, that of destroying, or putting an end to. Plato contended that the human soul could not be destroyed, perish, or die, under any possible circumstances; his opponents maintained that it could. The word, therefore, was familiar to many of those whom our Lord and His apostles addressed in connection with the nature and destiny of man's soul. Is it conceivable, that they would have applied the very same word to the very same thing in a totally different sense? Would they not necessarily be understood as giving their decision on the great question that divided the educated mind of the world? And was not that decision evidently this—that the truth lay between the two contending parties—that what Plato said could happen to none, and his opponents said would happen to all, would really happen, though not at death, to the wicked alone, they would be destroyed, soul as well as body, and perish forever.— Way Everlasting.
The popular theory confounds "the death of sin" which is the work of Satan and of man himself, with the "death" which is "the wages of sin," and which is inflicted by God. It is argued that, as "life eternal" is "to know" God in Christ, "the second death" may be to remain in ignorance of God under circumstances of aggravated misery. But eternal life does not consist in knowing God, any more than the life of the body consists in the blood. "The blood is the life"—as that on which our bodily life depends; and the knowledge of God is that on which our eternal life depends, or in which it "stands." If however the knowledge of God and eternal life were convertible terms, it would afford no countenance to the common doctrine. For the second death is not the continuance of all the sin and misery, now existing, however intensified and unrelieved, but the infliction by God of some specific death which He alone "is able" to inflict.
The Bible, interpreted by itself, is clear and connected in its teaching upon this subject. It begins by establishing, in the very opening of man's history, the fundamental meaning of the three words which stand at the head of the three great branches of the whole question : " living soul," " die," and " live forever." It tells us that man and beast were both formed from " the earth," and both made into "a living soul," an animated being, so that in this respect " man hath no pre-eminence over the beast." But it tells us that in other respects his pre-eminence was infinite, namely in his capacity for knowing and loving God, and consequently in his capacity for immortality. It tells us that he was threatened with the loss of that immortality if he should abandon his position of trustful loving dependence upon his Creator. If he sinned he was to "die." As to what he would understand by that word, the only hint which is given by the record is to be found in the fact that he was immediately clothed in the " skins" of animals. Not a word is said to convey the impression that their death was anything new or strange; not a word is said in the whole Bible to imply that death to them was the consequence of Adam's sin; and therefore the inference would naturally be, even if there were nothing to confirm it in what may be " clearly seen" from "the things which are made," that their dying was, from whatever cause, a pre-existing fact. Unless we invent some theory, of which the record gives not a hint, we must suppose that Adam understood the threat in the natural obvious sense, that if he fell from his high estate he too would die, " like unto the beasts which perish;" but with this terrible difference against him, that while they were "made to be taken and destroyed," he was made to "live forever;" and therefore, that when he perished he would " utterly perish in his owes corruption" or destruction. The Bible also tells us that when Adam had marred " the image of God after which he was created in righteousness and true holiness," he was debarred from access to the tree of life, so that he might not eat of it and "live forever." By this familiar expression, of such constant occurrence afterwards, no one understands here, in the first place where it is found, its original ruling utterance—lest he should be holy forever, lest he should be happy forever, lest he should know God, and possess everything which snakes life desirable. The tree of life was given for no such purpose: it was given that he might live forever, that he might keep possession of the life bestowed upon him, when the Creator breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul. The happiness of that life depended internally upon his consciousness of God's favor, and externally upon surrounding circumstances being in harmony with the nature that God had given him.
But although by parting with his holiness he had forfeited both his happiness and his immortality—though, without holiness, he could not be happy within, and God would neither allow him to be happy without, nor inflict upon him and upon creation the curse of eternal misery—he was not allowed to go down into the pit of destruction and perish forever, for the Creator Himself found a ransom. The promise of a Redeemer was at once made to him, and the grand foundation principle on which the redemption was to be wrought out was "evidently set forth" in visible semblance before his eyes by the institution of sacrifice. In every repetition of that act was seen an image, faint indeed, but true as far as it went, of the wages of sin, namely—not endless suffering of mind and body, but—death. After the death of the sacrifice its body was consumed; representing, not any subsequent pain, for there was none, but entire destruction, so that the victim ceased to exist even in death, and no trace of it could be found. But in every repetition of that act there was also seen the transfer of penalty from the guilty to the innocent. The guilty lived, the innocent died. And further there was seen the requirement of personal faith in the efficacy of the sacrifice, inasmuch as the sinner himself was to bring the victim to be slain. By that act he expressed repentance and faith, and by repentance and faith he secured salvation from the eternal death which he had incurred by sin.
On this basis the whole Bible is grounded. It assures us that we are fallen, perishing creatures, but that by accepting the offer of eternal life in Christ we may regain our immortality, and with it obtain far more than we ever lost. It also assures us that there is no " salvation in any other; " that we are " condemned already; " and that if we have not the Son of God we cannot have life. It assures us that there is only one " way everlasting," the way of holiness, and that all other ways end in destruction; that " if we live after the flesh we shall die, but if through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body we shall live;" that if we eat of the bread which Christ offers, His flesh which He has given for the life of the world, we shall live forever, but if we refuse to eat of it we have no life in us.
And as it showed us the first origin of this present state of things, so does it show us the close. The evil of the universe appears to be concentrated within the confines of this planet, and here will it be brought to its termination. All evil, and all persistent evil-doers, will cease to exist, and God will be all in all. That which is opened out to us the most fully, as might be expected from our own special interest in it, is the glory of the elect Church. Whatever blessings may hereafter flow to the redeemed race of man from " the manifold wisdom of God " in Christ, the glorified Church, that had been gathered from out of it, will occupy the highest position in the scale of creation. Who can ever rank higher than those who are to be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ? Some glimpses of that glory are afforded us, however dimly and obscurely, in the closing scenes of revelation. In the beginning of the Bible we see man in his primitive state of innocence and simplicity; at its close we see him wrought up with infinite toil, and labor, and pain, into the highest possible condition of individual and corporate development. Man's history " begins in a garden and ends in a city."
If we could really be persuaded that to believe all this is "infidelity," it would be with some curiosity, not unmingled with anxiety, that we should ask —What then is Faith?—Way Everlasting.
WHAT a contrast between the unnatural, exaggerated representation of sin's desert, given by popular theology, and the plain, simple, intelligible, yet tremendous declaration of God's Word—"The soul that sins, it shall die!" How the one violates all our moral instincts; how the other commends itself to the universal conscience of mankind! How impossible really to feel that the sins of a finite being, during a limited period, can deserve an eternity of suffering; how easy to recognize "the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death !" Every moral creature is indebted solely to the good pleasure of God for calling him into existence, and is dependent upon Him each moment for the continuance of his life. If, therefore, he refuses to use his life in his Maker's service, is it likely that he will be allowed to retain possession of it? Life is the all-comprehensive trust committed to him by the Creator. If he abuses it, the trust is withdrawn. What can be more righteous, more God-like? What can be farther removed from weakness or from cruelty? How perfectly every object is attained by this act of justice! What possible gain could accrue from leaving him in possession of the life that he has misused, and allowing him to continue in sin and misery forever? Absolutely none. While the loss would be enormous; for it would keep the universe in eternal discord. What amount of suffering the sinner may have to undergo while life remains to him. is another question. On that point we only know, and only need to know, that in every case the stripes will be exactly proportioned to the heinousness of the offence, which the Judge of all the earth is alone competent to estimate. When, however, God resolves to spare the rebel no longer, but to inflict upon him the extreme penalty of the law, the righteousness of the sentence is patent to all. The conscience of the universe is satisfied, and all creation can say, Amen.—The Glory of Christ.
About twenty years ago a Christian in Philadelphia was asked to give a course of lectures, in answer to a book that had lately appeared in favor of Universalism. After delivering the first lecture, he felt so deeply the responsibility .of his position that he besought the Lord with all earnestness to show him clearly the whole truth of the matter, whatever it might be, and whatever consequences his acknowledgment of it might involve. His eyes were opened almost immediately, and he perceived that he and his opponent were both wrong. He saw the glorious truth of life and immortality in Christ alone; and from that day to this he has seen it., with ever-increasing clearness, to be the grand revelation which God has made to us in His Word. He has rejoiced in being counted worthy to suffer shame, and obloquy, and persecution for the truth as it is in Jesus, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than popular applause, the smiles of party, or even the approbation of the best of men. " if ever," were his own words to me, " the Spirit of God alone taught any man any truth out of the Word, against all his own prejudices, He taught me that," Reader, will you try the same experiment, and ask God not to confirm you in your present opinions, but "to show you the whole truth of the matter, whatever it may be?" If you have sufficient distrust of your own infallibility to enable you to do this honestly, and sufficient love of truth for its own sake to make you do it earnestly, there is no fear of the result.
MEN AND BRETHREN,—Preach "Life and Immortality," as "brought to light by the Gospel," and to be found in Christ alone. For God's sake and for man's sake, do not encourage a perishing world in its delusive dream of necessary immortality. It is useless to warn men that, unless they repent, it will be to them an immortality of wretchedness. They neither can nor ought to believe that a God of perfect justice, to say nothing of infinite love, will inflict upon the creatures of His hand, a curse that would shake creation to its centre, and blast the happiness of every intelligent being who was in any measure a partaker of the Divine nature. They neither can, nor ought to believe, that. He who is " of purer eyes than to behold iniquity " will tolerate the eternal existence of moral evil, if He can possibly put an end to it. They will eagerly snatch at your well-meant, but fatal, admission that they are indestructible beings, capable of enduring anything that even Omnipotence can lay upon them, and who therefore must necessarily live forever. Let that be granted, and the moral instinct, which God has implanted in their breasts, will assure them that sooner or later, in some way or other, they must be restored to His favor. They feel, though they may not be able to prove, that all who live forever must ultimately "live unto God," that He must, "be all in all," and unbroken harmony reign throughout His boundless empire. Only assure them that they will then be alive, and nothing will make them believe, in the bottom of their hearts, that they will be excluded from the promised reconciliation of all things.
Oh, lift up your voices like trumpets, till the walls of this dangerous delusion fall down flat before the plain stern truth of God's Word, that "the wages of sin is death;" that the finally impenitent will be "destroyed body and soul in hell; " that if they "judge themselves unworthy of eternal life," by neglecting the offer of it made to them in the Gospel, " there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."
With what power would the Gospel message then come, offering "eternal life" to all who are willing to accept it as "the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord," offering " glory and honor and immortality" to all who will seek it " by patient continuance in well doing !" It is nothing to ask, whether such great results do follow, in the case of the few who preach this truth. What can be expected when each voice is drowned by a hundred others, assuring them that such a doom is impossible, that they all have "immortal souls," and that even their bodies, though naturally mortal, will hereafter put on immortality, whereby both body and soul will be secured an existence as lasting as that of the Creator Himself? But what might not be expected, if the united voice of the whole Church were to cry aloud, as clearly and boldly as the Bible does—Life and Death are set before you; therefore choose Life—for why will ye die?
Lord of all power and might, cast Thy bright beams of upon Thy Church. Roll away this heavy cloud, that has so long darkened her mind, oppressed her heart, paralysed her arm, and cast—oh, how great—dishonor upon Thy glorious name! Only Thou canst do this mighty work. But it is not with Thee to save by many or by few. Use, or ley aside, whatever instruments Thou pleases; only let Thy Spirit lift the veil from the eyes of Thy servants. Speak, and it will be done. t there be light, and there will be light. Amen.
THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN THE CREATION AND RECONCILIATION OF ALL THINGS. With special reference to the Doctrine of Eternal Evil.
THE WAY EVERLASTING : a Review of the Controversy upon Eternal Evil.
THE ETERNITY OF EVIL.
IMMORTALITY: an Appeal to Evangelists; with a Letter from the Rev. Dr. Mortimer.
THE POWER OF PRAYER.
TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS.
Prejudice, if not altogether invincible, is perhaps the most difficult of all errors to be eradicated from the human mind. By disguising itself under the respectable name of firmness it is of indefinitely slower extirpation than actual, vice. No man will defend a sin, as such; but even good men defend a prejudice, though every one else sees that it is producing all the effects of a sin, promoting hatred, souring the temper, and exciting evil passions.—Hannah More.
Mr. has rendered signal service to the cause he opposes, by calling forth this most powerful vindication of the truth ("The Way Everlasting.") For force of logic, clearness of interpretation, reverence of Scripture, and noble fearlessness of men, this pamphlet is a splendid production. We sympathize with the holy indignation of the writer against the dreadful dishonor cast upon the blessed God by the common doctrine that sin and misery are never to come to an end. Messrs. Constable, Ker, and Minton are doing a glorious work; and to be associated with them in that work is an honor and a privilege for which we thank our heavenly Father. Even if the Rainbow did nothing more in favor of this great theological reformation than to tell its readers what these able Christian scholars are doing, the service is too great to be dispensed with. May the God of love, and light, and truth, stand by those who are exposed to reproach for his sake, and bring the controversy to an issue glorifying to himself!—The Rainbow.
The subject is deeply interesting and important. It is difficult to see, how God can be "all in all," if millions of human beings are to be the objects of His wrath to all eternity.
I have just read through your most interesting work for the third time, and feel deeply thankful that it was ever written. Every one who reads it will thank God and thank you.
Your works, " The Glory of Christ," and " The Way Everlasting," have been highly appreciated here, and read with very great profit. Allow me to thank you for the clear and forcible manner in which you have shown that the popular creed respecting the ultimate end of the wicked has no warrant from Scripture.
I have read your book throughout with the deepest interest. I thank God for such a testimony.
I have read your book twice with increased interest and conviction. Many good persons doubtless there arc, who will shrink with dread from such an uprooting of what they have been from childhood taught to believe. Such persons would rather never have the subject mooted, even with the possibility of having removed from their hearts a weight of anxiety and uncertainty, which must at times try their faith, and cloud their brightest hopes. To refute your views will be difficult, I think. And I congratulate you on your fearless publication of them.
It may be a consolation to you to know that some receive your book as a treasure, and praise God that you have been spared to edit it.
Your work has lately fallen into my hands, and the feeling of relief I experience can scarcely be described.
I shall continue to recommend your book, being convinced that it is well calculated to produce conviction as to the soundness of your doctrine.
The happier views which I am now enabled to hold make me feel truly grateful for your book.
My hearty thanks for your valuable and truth-loving book! Blessed be God! The glory of Christ shines brighter and brighter in the full view of the destruction of evil.
I must acknowledge that I consider you have proved your case. To my mind you have cleared up much that was most difficult in the Bible to receive.
You have my hearty thanks for your most interesting hook. You have handled the subject most satisfactorily. I saw, even in the introduction, that you had struck the right key, and would grapple with the difficulties of the topic.
I cannot refrain front writing to express the deep Christian sympathy with which I regard those views which God has led you to entertain.
Many take your view; but few, unhappily, have the moral courage to speak out.
I have long been weighing well the subject of Future Punishment, and have arrived at the conclusion, based on Scripture, that the loss of life in Hell is its essence.
Your pamphlet is deeply precious, and all through bears the ring of God's truth.
Your papers on the subject of Eternal Life arc very able and interesting, and written in the best Christian spirit.
You have, to my mind at least, established your case. It must produce effect.
I have never before been able to feel my feet touching the ground, not of human reason merely, but the holy ground of revealed truth. I saw at once this was the missing truth, which I had long been wanting. The good moral effect of this doctrine of the soul's conditional immortality would, I am persuaded, be unspeakably great, if it were to become the popular belief. Accept my gratitude for your manful endeavor in the cause of truth.
I congratulate you on the boldness and ability with which you have handled this most interesting subject.
Your striking work has been read and re-read most carefully, and were it only for a clearer and happier view which I have been able to take on many points of theology, I owe you lasting gratitude.
My belief is, that you are doing good service to the cause of truth. My o sympathies have been with the Evangelicals; but on that mighty subject which you have so ably discussed I cannot agree with them.
I very much agree with the view which you have taken, though I have not had the courage, as you have, to express my belief:
Having held your views for thirty-three years, I rejoice that at last an Evangelical clergyman has the courage to proclaim them. It is refreshing to think that the time of this long ignorance is coming to an end.
Like yourself, have been convinced of the untenableness of my former tenaciously held views. It was my zeal to convert a holder of the opposite views, that actually led to my conversion to his. I could not possibly resist the clear proofs advanced from Scripture. My religion has since been a thousand times happier to me.
Allow me to express my gratification at hearing of another and so able an advocate of what I believe in my heart to be the truth. The fearful dogma of eternal misery has made more infidels, and more fatally obstructed the progress of the Gospel, than any other.
We only want a few well-known names to give an impetus to the movement. With or without them it will succeed. Several of my brother clergy here, all good men, agree with us.
I have read with the warmest sympathy your courageous protests against that distressing, and after all groundless, doctrine of Eternal Suffering. I felt very much gratified by seeing that you have received adhesions from numerous quarters. I feel, nevertheless, bound to offer you my humble but hearty tribute of Christian wishes. My heart and mind are so full of this momentous subject, after ten years of earnest study, that I believe nothing but a volume in French will relieve me. Meantime, may the Lord, who has given you the light, maintain your strength and firmness in this good fight.